Still North Of The Border

By Richard Price

Let me tell you about the Elk in Scotland. When it first appeared on the market here, it was used extensively in educational establishments and was rightly given a place in the top five computers used in schools (it came number three in my place of work); number one being the BBC B with IBM a close second.

Now they have been superseded by the Apple Macintosh. Electron software was, at one time, sold freely on the market up here. Now one has to send to Superior Software or some other store in England to buy anything at all in the way of games and serious programs. Hardware and add-ons have to be purchased in the same way, but how much longer will the supplies of add-ons etc last?

Today, the "other" games machines now offer much more exciting graphics and sound than the Elk and the drift is away from our cherished Electron. But it still survives the onslaught and who knows, one day, maybe in a few years' time, these hi-tech games will become boring and gamesters will start searching for something more elegant that high-
speed shoot-'em-down Star Wars-type of games which become predictable once one has mastered the technique.

On the subject of tapes, one cannot buy anything less than C45s here in my area of Scotland and they are not easy to find either. C12s or C15s have to be bought from Maplin or Greenweld catalogues.

Richard PriceWest Kilbride

I think we've all been wondering about the Elk's future recently, in particular if hardware and software will continue to be available. For the time being, things seem to be fairly stable with Pres and Superior showing no signs of ending their support and Slogger even looking as far ahead as 2000!

Like Richard, I too am having trouble getting hold of specific tapes. My local branch of WHSmith has been out of stock for months but keep insisting that a fresh supply will be delivered "soon"! (Extra, extra! Man hit by low-flying bacon!) How are things for other Elk owners?